1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microwave oven for detecting the food position using a weight sensor, and more particularly to a method for controlling the microwave output depending upon a weight and food position to be cooked so as to implement optimized cooking performance in a microwave oven and an apparatus for performing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a microwave oven is a cooking device for rapidly heating food using microwaves at a frequency of about 2,450 MHz, which are generated when high voltage electricity is applied to a magnetron, a device for generating high frequency microwaves, and vibrate water molecules contained in food, so that the food is rapidly cooked by heat generated due to the vibration of the water molecules.
Such a microwave oven detects the food weight using a weight sensor, and a microwave oven using a weight sensor is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 0118078.
The microwave oven in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 0118078 detects the food weight and controls cooking time and microwave output based on the detected food weight.
There are several types of weight sensors, such as a differential coil type weight sensor, a capacitance type weight sensor, a piezo-electric type weight sensor, a strain gage type weight sensor, and the like, and conventional weight sensors detect the food weight while the food is supported by a turntable.
Since a conventional microwave oven controls the microwave output only by taking account of the food weight without taking account of the fact that food is not cooked uniformly and microwave energy transmitted to the food varies according to the position of the food on the turntable, the cooking performance of the conventional microwave oven varies depending upon whether the food is located at the center or the side of the turntable.